The present invention is directed to a multiple-use integrated circuit which can be used in a variety of applications, including wireless network applications, as both a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) master/target interface in conventional or embedded systems.
Many computer systems utilize the well known PCI bus as an interconnect for various devices in computer systems. Some devices are capable of operating as both PCI bus masters and PCI bus targets; however, these devices do not allow for interconnection to other types of communication channels, nor can these devices serve as bridges to other networks/interconnects. Accordingly, a deficiency exists in this area.
An integrated circuit includes a microcontroller core interconnected with a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) interface configurable as a PCI HOST/CPU supporting multiple PCI devices when the integrated circuit is used in embedded system applications and as a PCI device when the integrated circuit is used in a hosted application. In some cases, a radio media access controller is (MAC) interconnected to the microcontroller. Also, a forward error correction (FEC) coder/decoder (CODEC) coupled to the radio MAC may be provided. Such an FEC CODEC may be configured to provide Reed-Solomon coding/decoding. Preferably, one or more communication interfaces coupled to the microcontroller are provided, each being configured to allow for interconnection of the integrated circuit with external communication channels.